Five years ago: AOL said to be eyeing CompuServe buy

First published 2 April, 1997

AOL is rumoured to be preparing a bid for rival online service CompuServe, sending shares of both skywards yesterday. Shares of AOL were up seven per cent yesterday while those of CompuServe were up 17 per cent in total for Monday and Tuesday.

AOL has about eight million subscribers mostly in the consumer sector, and CompuServe 5.3 million with the emphasis on business. Adding credence to the rumour, CompuServe owner H&R Block recently said it would consider bids for the online service.